One of Android’s major strengths is that it allows the user to choose their own application to replace system defaults, everywhere from the dialer to the camera. In Android 4.0 and below, this was accomplished fairly easily, with a simple dialogue which allowed the user to tap on an app to use it once, and a checkbox to choose a different default. However, in Android 4.1, Google changed to a new system which required two taps, much to the dismay of some default-hopping users.

Although the new interface only added one tap to the action, it made the entire process less smooth and just a touch more annoying. Yes, the new interface elements looked good from a styling point of view, but even I noticed the slight annoyance caused by the new app picker, which was akin to “a grain of sand in [my] shoe that undermines the rest of the experience,” to use Matias Duarte’s words. Fortunately, the issue has been rectified in Android 4.2, as you can see in the video above. The solution is simple: In order to bypass the two option selector at the bottom of the dialogue, the user needs only to quickly double tap the needed app in order to use it “just once.”

While the implemented solution and problem were both minor and fairly simple, the fix is certainly nice to have. It will eliminate one of the few “grains of sand” left in my Android experience, and make the Android experience that much better. Plus, the fact that Google was able to address such a small issue so quickly is a testament to how far Android has come. Just a year or two ago, a complaint like this one would have been at the bottom of a long list of things to change. Now, it is fixed almost immediately, and I think that actually speaks a lot to how far Android has come, and where Google wants to be with the OS.

About the Author

Aaron Orquia is an associate editor at Pocketables. He has been using Android and Linux since he bought his first computer years ago, and his interest in technology, software, and tweaking both to work just right has only grown stronger since then. His current gadgets include a OnePlus One, a Pebble smartwatch, and an Acer C720 Chromebook.

“just a touch more annoying”? You are joking. It affects my 3rd Party Contact Manager and Dialler so badly that I have tossed out the phone and gone back to my trusty old Motorola Defy on FroYo 2.2.2!

I truly HATE this new “feature”. HATE it, Hate it, HATE IT!

And I don’t have the option to upgrade to 4.2 without getting another new phone. The removal of the Next Alarm time from the Lock screen is just another of the many annoyances in 4.1. JB is just SOOOO, SOOOO, SOOOOOO Disappointing. At least I was able to solve my problems with FroYo using 3rd Party apps. Not so lucky with 4.1.